The Cyclops gets Skewered

As an in-class writing assignment, Andrew had his students paraphrase Odysseus' encounter with Polyphemus.


Of course, the teacher had to write one too...

Enjoy!

The Blinding of the Cyclops
by Andrew Johnston

With that he over fell, spread eagle on the ground
And round about his lolling head gross carnage spilled around.
Mixed in with wine he spat it up – he barfed it like a bum
Who after begging bought some wine to drink when he’d had done.
“The time has come,” I told my men, “to poke the Cyclops’ eye!”
So in the fire I thrust the stake to heat up like a pie.
And when I read the temperature, my stake, it was well done
So out I dragged the glowing stick while some god made me run
Then in his face we rammed that trunk once lifted to the sky
And round and round we spun, “So fun!” while gunk spewed out his eye.
The process made me think of how a ship is made by men
Who spin a drill bit round and round their civ-il-i-za-ti-on.
A blacksmith with his hammer will hit a metal ax
Till shaped just so he calms it down in ice-brooks’ temper lax
Then steam pours forth with screeching sound from metal hardening
And thus the pierced optic sphere of Cyclops took to wing.